Ecology of Plastic Flowers

Quint Rusman; Dani Lucas-Barbosa; Erik H Poelman; Marcel Dicke

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2019.04.007

Ecology of Plastic Flowers

Trends Plant Sci. 2019 Aug;24(8):725-740. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2019.04.007. Epub 2019 Jun 13.

Authors

Quint Rusman¹, Dani Lucas-Barbosa², Erik H Poelman², Marcel Dicke²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: quint.rusman@wur.nl.
² Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 31204246
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2019.04.007

Abstract

Plant phenotypic plasticity in response to herbivore attack includes changes in flower traits. Such herbivore-induced changes in flower traits have consequences for interactions with flower visitors. We synthesize here current knowledge on the specificity of herbivore-induced changes in flower traits, the underlying molecular mechanisms, and the ecological consequences for flower-associated communities. Herbivore-induced changes in flower traits seem to be largely herbivore species-specific. The extensive plasticity observed in flowers influences a highly connected web of interactions within the flower-associated community. We argue that the adaptive value of herbivore-induced plant responses and flower plasticity can be fully understood only from a community perspective rather than from pairwise interactions.

Keywords: flower traits; flower visitors; herbivore-induced plant responses; phenotypic plasticity; plant defense; specificity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Ecology
Flowers
Plants
Plastics*
Pollination*

Substances

Plastics